The most important skill, perhaps, is generating good questions that challenge the student and perpetuate thoughtful progress.
what makes a good question? how can this be expressed for young minds?
There are factual, interpretive and evaluative questions. The former have more specific answers than then latter. Each share the same ingredients: § Open ended- not y/n, require cognitive engagement. § Undermining - questions basic assumptions or convictions. § Involved - Cannot be answered without careful research. Can be broken into additional questions, each to be addressed in the research. § Relevant - Something the student is interested in or can relate to. § Controversial - has an ethical dimension, or understanding multiple perspectives is necessary to identify the solution. § Practical - The answer is not a simple fact, but is answerable given the resources available. § Honest- the answer is unknown and so the query is genuine.
Assessment takes place through feedback between teacher and student, one-on-one 'interviews', and through narrative assessment (usually narrated by the student to demonstrate integration of lessons with original thought. (Matsuoka 2004)
The inquiry method involves a process of solving a query, there are 6 steps. hmmm....
What exactly are the six steps? What is the student expected to achieve at each stage?
Step 1: Question -Define the query, generate questions that will be answered during the process of information gathering and synthesizing. Narrow the topic and develop key words or phrases. Step 2: Plan - Develop a timeline, set goals, identify strategies to solve the question(s). Step 3: Collect information, credit sources. - doing the research, gathering resources, recording citations and giving credit to sources. Step 4: Organize information - align the research with the query to ensure that the knowledge gathered will answer the original questions. effectively make an outline or storyboard for the final project. Step 5: Synthesize - Pull all the information and new knowledge together into a final project. (slideshow, presentation, movie, etc) Step 6: Communicate - report the findings to an audience (teacher, clasroom, web audiences) and share the answers.
Inquiry is not a linear. It could be recursive even as each step may the researcher point back to a previous one.
Big6
Know
Want to Learn
Learn
Further Questions
There are six steps in the Big6 process.
What exactly are the six steps and what are the students expected to achieve during each step?
Step 1 - Task Definition - Students ask: What do we need to do? Step 2 - Information Seeking Strategies - Students ask: What can we use to find what we need? Step 3 - Location & Access - Students ask: Where can we find what we need? Step 4 - Use of Information - Students ask: What information can we use? Step 5 - Synthesis - Students ask: How can we show what we learned? Step 6 - Evaluation - Students ask: How will we know if we did well? (Jansen, "The Big6 Goes Primary")
Must students always complete the steps in order?
Many school districts use the Big6 model.
What are the advantages of this model?
Using the Big6 model has several advantages. First, the Big6 is able to be used at virtually any grade and ability level. Students are able to work through steps at their own pace allowing differentiation based on interest, reading level, and learning style (Jansen, "Differentiating Instruction" 32). Another advantage is that multiple literacies and content can be integrated in a logical manner using the Big6 approach (Needham, 42). The Big6 also produces a framework for teaching and learning that is closely correlated to the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (2009). It does this by providing teachers and school librarians a concrete process in which to embed instruction of each of the individual skills identified in the standards and for learners it enables connections between problem solving and individual skills leading to mastery (Needham, 42).
I've personally heard teachers complain about the Big6 model.
What are the disadvantages of this model?
This model could be accused of simply being a list of steps that does not encourage true inquiry on the part of students in which they personally and critically analyze and develop questions focusing on where they are, what they have done, and what they have yet to do to accomplish their ultimate goal. Because the Big6 asks the questions for the students, a significant part of the higher-level inquiry process is left out. (I drew these conclusions after reading several articles about Big6, the ideas are mine, so I don't have a citation).
What can be done to eliminate the disadvantages of this model? Can modifications be made to increase its effectiveness?
Research Steps to Success
Know
Want to Learn
Learn
Further Questions
This model provides steps to guide users through the inquiry process.
This is just one model among many that facilitate the inquiry process.
What are the advantages to using the Research Steps to Success?
In the website, Ms Hughes provides clear explanation of each step and provides planning material. Her language is easy for the student to understand, the worksheets are ready to use. This website could be used by students, or as a teaching tool to introduce the model in the classroom.
Which school was this developed for? How different is Canadian curriculum from US?
The inquiry process is intended to guide the student through the learning process in a way that engages them and nurtures their ability to access and use information. Any inquiry models attempts to accomplish this goal.
How does the Research Steps to Success model compare with the Big6 model?
Both models present a pathway to practicing information literacy skills. Both websites provide a plethora of information and tools and organizers to support implementation. The Big6 website is definitely written for educators with tools to use in the classroom. Research Steps to Success website writes to the students first, and subpages are aimed to educators (teachers and librarians have their own pages). Examples of lessons for all grade levels are presented. Both models thoroughly guide the students through the inquiry process. Big6 is obviously more capital driven, with a store and on cite presentations proffered; whereas Ms Hughes does not mention any return for her efforts. The Research Steps for Success was written, apparently, for Ontario schools. The Big6 originated in Washington (Ischool). I’m not sure how their curricular expectations compare with those in the US. The rhetoric choice on the Research Steps to Success is much more appropriate for student use and engages the student with worksheets, journals, questions, slide shows written for their grade range. It’s as though she wrote this webpage for a school and her students. The Big6 web is written for the professional, without doubt. The gentlemen have many tools available to analyze and implement the process –impressive webinars, powerpoints and videos. However, their ‘kidcorner’ pages still requires guided navigation; or a very gifted child.
I'd like the chance to work with different models and see how the children take to them. The value of the model to the teacher is not only the amount of effort they put into the lessons, but also how well the students react to the process. Without actually executing them, it’s difficult to name a negative aspect.
References:
American Association of School Librarians. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action. Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
Eisenberg, Michael and Robert E. Berkowitz. The Big6. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
Erniec. Media Centered: Theory and Practice of School Librarianship. WordPress, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
Jansen, Barbara A. “Differentiating Instruction in the Primary Grades with the Big6.” Library Media Connection 27.4 (2009): 32 – 33. Web. 8 Oct. 2010.
Jansen, Barbara A. The Big6 Goes Primary: Teaching Information and Communications Technology Skills in Grades K – 3. Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth Publishing, Inc., 2009. Print.
Needham, J. "Meeting the New AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner via Big6 Problem Solving." Library Media Connection 28.6 (2010): 42 – 43. Web. 8 Oct. 2010.
A 2.4: Persuasive Presentation
K-W-L-Q
Collaborators:Inquiry Learning
§ Open ended- not y/n, require cognitive engagement.
§ Undermining - questions basic assumptions or convictions.
§ Involved - Cannot be answered without careful research. Can be broken into additional questions, each to be addressed in the research.
§ Relevant - Something the student is interested in or can relate to.
§ Controversial - has an ethical dimension, or understanding multiple perspectives is necessary to identify the solution.
§ Practical - The answer is not a simple fact, but is answerable given the resources available.
§ Honest- the answer is unknown and so the query is genuine.
http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/teaching/techniques/asking-questions/asking-questions
What is the student expected to achieve at each stage?
Step 2: Plan - Develop a timeline, set goals, identify strategies to solve the question(s).
Step 3: Collect information, credit sources. - doing the research, gathering resources, recording citations and giving credit to sources.
Step 4: Organize information - align the research with the query to ensure that the knowledge gathered will answer the original questions. effectively make an outline or storyboard for the final project.
Step 5: Synthesize - Pull all the information and new knowledge together into a final project. (slideshow, presentation, movie, etc)
Step 6: Communicate - report the findings to an audience (teacher, clasroom, web audiences) and share the answers.
Big6
Step 2 - Information Seeking Strategies - Students ask: What can we use to find what we need?
Step 3 - Location & Access - Students ask: Where can we find what we need?
Step 4 - Use of Information - Students ask: What information can we use?
Step 5 - Synthesis - Students ask: How can we show what we learned?
Step 6 - Evaluation - Students ask: How will we know if we did well?
(Jansen, "The Big6 Goes Primary")
Research Steps to Success
Step 2: Accessing Resources
Step 3: Processing Information
Step 4: Transfer Learning
(http://www3.sympatico.ca/sandra.hughes/sandra.hughes/research/default.html)
The Big6 website is definitely written for educators with tools to use in the classroom. Research Steps to Success website writes to the students first, and subpages are aimed to educators (teachers and librarians have their own pages).
Examples of lessons for all grade levels are presented. Both models thoroughly guide the students through the inquiry process.
Big6 is obviously more capital driven, with a store and on cite presentations proffered; whereas Ms Hughes does not mention any return for her efforts.
The Research Steps for Success was written, apparently, for Ontario schools. The Big6 originated in Washington (Ischool). I’m not sure how their curricular expectations compare with those in the US.
The rhetoric choice on the Research Steps to Success is much more appropriate for student use and engages the student with worksheets, journals, questions, slide shows written for their grade range. It’s as though she wrote this webpage for a school and her students. The Big6 web is written for the professional, without doubt. The gentlemen have many tools available to analyze and implement the process –impressive webinars, powerpoints and videos. However, their ‘kidcorner’ pages still requires guided navigation; or a very gifted child.
References: